Elderly patient punched by carer
A CARE worker attacked an 84-year-old dementia patient as she sat on the toilet, a court heard.
Charles Kent, of Bushton Lane, Anslow, punched Eileen Knowles while she was living at the Fauld House Nursing Home near Tutbury.
The 21-year-old was found guilty after trial of assaulting her while he was working at the 48-bed care home, off Fauld Lane.
He was ordered to pay £50 compensation and will have to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
Burton Magistrates’ Court heard Kent was escorting Mrs Knowles to the toilet with a female colleague, but she waited outside while he was in the room alone with the pensioner.
Sonia Durrant-Clarke, prosecuting, said: “She stated that she heard her (Mrs Knowles) saying ‘don’t do that’ twice.
“She saw [Mrs Knowles] holding onto a white rail. She then stated he hit her hand two to three times.
“He then stopped and she said ‘don’t hit her’. He said he was rubbing her hand.”
When contacted by the Mail, the care home twice refused to clarify whether or not Kent was still an employee.
He was found guilty of common assault after a trial on February 14, and returned to court yesterday for sentencing.
The charge related to a period between July 1 and September 30 last year, but no specific date was given in court.
Sonia Lawrence, defending, described it as an ‘isolated incident’ and said that Kent was a man of ‘previous good character’.
However, she accepted the crime was made more serious by the fact it was committed against a vulnerable victim.
“I am not going to say a great deal about the offence itself, but he still maintains he is not guilty,” she told the court.
“He received very little in the way of training. It seems unusual for a male to be left alone with a female patient.”
Kent was sentenced to a 12-month community order and will have to pay £620 court costs.
Accompanied by his father, Kent gave no comment as he left the Horninglow Street courthouse yesterday.
